Shoe shiners in Hong Kong

They stand, or sit if there is a chair provided, facing the shoe shiner with one leg up on the wooden block, waiting patiently for the polishing to be done.

A band of seven elderly men clustered in Theatre Lane[2] just across Lan Kwai Fong, cleaning shoes of office executives.

Key cutters and cobblers operate out of bright green tin stalls are the tools they need for buffing shoes.

[5] As a result of natural attrition, the number of licensed fixed pitch bootblack hawker[6] decreases in Hong Kong.

However, even with the risk of being fined by the FEHD officials, many shoes shiners continued their business, especially in the area around the Central's Theatre Lane, where other traditional craftsmen set their station alongside the Pedder Building.

A shoe polisher who identified himself as Mr. Lee was prosecuted for operating without a license and causing public obstruction with his stall on the side of the street.

The issue moved a Civic Party legislator, Audrey Eu, to campaign on behalf of Mr. Lee and four more polishers, aiming to fight for licenses.

[7] After a series of lobbying and publicity stunts, her effort paid off with a discussion with the Central and Western District Council and local shop owners.

In June, shoe shiners finally met the health inspector to discuss the possibility of issuing licenses.